Dino Nation (James Borbath):
The Atlantic is not as strong as it seems clear New jersey and Philly have
taken a step backwards. While both the Knicks and Boston are still pretty
much the same. Meaning that Boston will still be good and the Knicks will
be a question mark as always. Boston will always be a tough team to play
for the Raptors. The other 3 teams all are teams the Raptors should (if
they have any ideas of being a home playoff team) be 3-1 or 4-0. Philly
would have been tough had they re-signed Andre Miller. But given Eddie
Jordan and his system needs solid point guard play which they would have
had in Miller. Other things of note in the division for me, Wallace on the Celtics
should fit well and how will Devin Harris do with Courtney Lee instead of
V.C? Here is how I would rank the Atlantic at this early stage of the
game.

Boston
Toronto
Philly
New York
New Jersey

Only Boston and Toronto in the playoffs. That is how the Dino Blogger sees
it. Subject to change given we have not even seen a pre-season game yet.

RaptorBlog (Scott Carefoot)
Is this a trick question? The Celtics are still the team to beat in the Atlantic -- with or without K.G. The Nets and Knicks are almost certain to jockey for fourth and fifth place in the division, which means the Raptors will probably be battling for position with the Sixers. If Elton Brand can rebound to 90% of his former prime and if the Sixers' youth (Young and Speights) continue to blossom, then Philly should be able to at least match last season's 41-win total and the Raptors will probably require at least a 10-win improvement over last season in order to finish a distant second place in the Atlantic.

The Alt Raps Blog (Scott)
I believe the Atlantic will be very similar to what it was last season: a runaway leader followed by a tight race. It's not a stretch to think, in the conference, the race for 5-8 will be tight and it wouldn't shock me to see those spots full of Atlantic teams. Obviously the Celtics will give everybody fits, but positionally I think the Nets could give the Raptors fits. Sure, Vince brought the pain with every visit, but he has never been a one man wrecking crew. Even in his absence, look for the Raptors to buckle.

RaptorTalk (Walter Dubowec)
The Atlantic Division will be anything but tough. On balance, the Atlanic is weaker than it was last season – which isn’t saying much. The good news is that Toronto is the only divisional team to improve in the off-season. I expect between 45 to 50 wins and a solid second place finish in the Atlantic.

While I expect Boston to win near 60 games and take the Atlantic crown once again, I don’t expect the aging Celtics to be any better than last season - even with the addition of Rasheed. Nonetheless, the Celtics will still give Toronto a lot of trouble head-to-head. But I expect the Raptors to be lot more competitive and potentially split the season series, even though a 1-3 record against Boston is likely.

The Knicks are still in turmoil and Donnie Walsh’s imprint on the team is a year or two away from making a difference in their on-court record. I expect another sub-500 year at the Mecca. The short term impact of Philly losing Andre Miller means they will hover around .500, while New jersey is clearly rebuilding and will finish dead last.

Where do I say they make the playoffs? I say challenge for it. That's all.

I think they'll be competitive. I like Alston backing up Harris, I like what Chris Douglas Roberts brings, I like Battie and Najera providing some depth and toughness off the bench and maybe Yi takes it up a notch.

If anything they're missing scoring power with the departure of VC but that void could be filled if Lopez takes a step forward in his development. Again, I see them challenging for a position. They could wind up 11th though.

Sheed and Garnett haven't shown they are regressing, so this talk about them getting worst is premature.

Philadelphia I think will struggle. Who's gonna run the point for that team? They have no captain running that offence. Thad Young is a nice piece but he's overshadowedon offence by Iggy. And Iggy and Brand don't seem to have any chemistry. They have nice pieces but that's it. Guys who can't play withone another.

The Knicks are a dark horse no doubt. I feel they will be better than last year and here's why. They just re-signed Lee to a one year deal worth $7M, plus a $1M bonus should they make the playoffs. He's playing for the big contract that never materialized this season. Better believe he has a big chip on his shoulder. Next we have Nate Robinson who will be in the same boat. Then we have Gallinari, who will be 100% for the first time in his short NBA career. He's playing in a system that suits him very well, playing for a coach who loves him and playing with a chip on his shoulder. Before he got hurt some people were suggesting that he had more potential than Bargnani. Well, I don't think so BUT Gallinari is playing at a position that typically has a faster NBA transition phase than the center position does. Beyond that these guys have had a year to gell, the system is in place and everyone knows their role. The bad seeds are gone and everyone is clear, for the first time in almost a decade, just who is in charge. I feel they have the stuff to beat out Philly for 3rd. I feel Philly will feel the pain of having no Andre Miller around, a highly underrated guard who plays at a damn near elite level at times.

I think Sheed has definitely regressed over the last two seasons. Still - a lot will depend on whether he develops any chemistry with the team or not. He could be a boost to them, and he could be a hindrance to them. Overall, Doc is really going to have to show some coaching skills in terms of putting together a rotation that gets through the regular season in one piece. I see a lot of guys there that will be effected by tough stretches in the schedule, or injuries that bring more playing time.

Boston still has a definite edge - but it's not hard to see how they could slide a little.

What are talking about Garnett barely played last year & sheed wasn't even close to his career numbers...

Both are playing well below there career averages and are on the decline & there is nothing that can be changed about that fact!

& ur point about brand & iggy is off they barely played together last year!

Sheed may have regressed offensively but defensively he's still solid and Garnett was injured last year, but when he did play, he proved he's still a threat both offensively and defensively. Add into the fact that you're looking at Sheed as a 6th -7th man with a reduced role and really a continuity of defensive pressure and I don't think you're losing much.

And when Iggy and Brand did play together (until December I believe) they had no chemistry.